Safe Harbour (2007 Video) User Reviews

Okay, if you like a film which doesn't require much thinking

[sherikat5 · 4/10 · 1 March 2008]

This is a typical Steele novel production in that two people who have undergone some sort of tragedy manage to get together despite the odds. I wouldn't call this a spoiler because anyone who has read a Steele novel knows how they ALL end. If you don't want to know much about the plot, don't keep reading.

Gilbert's character, Ophelia, is a woman of French decent who has lost her husband and son in an accident. Gilbert needs to stop doing films where she is required to have an accent because she, otherwise a good actress, cannot realistically pull off any kind of accent. Brad Johnson, also an excellent actor, is Matt, who is recovering from a rather nasty divorce. He is gentle, convincing and compelling in this role.

The two meet on the beach through her daughter, Pip, and initially, Ophelia accuses Matt of being a child molester just because he talked art with the kid. All of them become friends after this episode and then the couple falls in love.

The chemistry between the two leads is not great, even though the talent of these two people is not, in my opinion, a question. They did the best they could with a predictable plot and a script that borders on stereotypical. Two people meet, tragedy, bigger tragedy, a secret is revealed, another tragedy, and then they get together. I wish there was more to it than that, but there it is in a nutshell.

I wanted mindless entertainment, and I got it with this. In regard to the genre of romantic films, this one fails to be memorable. "A Secret Affair" with Janine Turner is far superior (not a Steele book), as are some of Steele's earlier books turned into film.

Typical Danielle Steel Effort.

[jehaccess6 · 5/10 · 16 December 2011]

I watched this film because of Melissa Gilbert's presence. I have liked her since her "Little House On The Prarie" days. I must say I concur with other reviews regarding the weak French accent she was able to muster.

The best performances were from Liana Liberato (Pip) and Brad Johnson (Matt). They had an actual chemistry that made watching their interactions interesting.

I always have problems with films, they simplify lives to fit the time limits available. Take lonely divorcée Matt. Somehow he is able to afford to paint on the beach all day and never worry about earning a living. When his ex-wife moves his daughter to New Zealand with her new husband, he apparently makes no legal effort to prevent a move that will effectively deny any custody rights. His lonely bachelor pad on the beach somehow is always orderly with no housework.

When Ophelie (Gilbert) and Pip move back to their main house, it is in perfect order inside and out despite a three-month absence and no visible domestic help.

The biggest sticking point is the horrible CGI explosion of the jet carrying Ophelie's husband and son, shown in a flashback. It would require a nuclear explosion to vaporize an aircraft this way. A little creativity could have produced a more reasonable crash that would serve the plot line.

The Wexler Center where Ophelie volunteered was obviously not in the San Francisco Bay area. The Palm trees in front of the building are not found that far north. The exteriors were all filmed in the Los Angeles area, except for the Hillsborough location shots for the main house.

One minor point I noticed was that the dead son "Chad" was portrayed by Gilbert's real-life son Dakota Brinkman. He had no speaking part, but this may be an attempt to launch him in an acting career.

I concur in the other reviews that mention how weak the romance seemed to be. The chemistry was hardly convincing between the two leads. It seems that Melissa Gilbert will be forever condemned to these made-for-TV efforts. That is too bad. She is really a competent actress who is pushing the age limit for lead roles.

from the D. Steel book

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 16 April 2023]

Sarah gilbert, from little house on the prairie, is ophelia mackenzie. Ophelia is a widow, having lost her husband and son in a plane crash. It starts a little over the top. .... her daughter pip speaks to matt, a painter on the beach, but when he answers her, mom yells at him, threatening to call the cops for who knows what. Quite the over-reaction, mom. They finally make up and all become friends. Ophelia really needs to get involved in life again, as everyone tells her. With her ups and downs, it seems she has never really gotten over her loss. It's okay entertainment. Gilbert speaks with a french accent, which comes and goes. Almost every moment has dramatic music under it, but I guess that's par for the course, with a movie based on a romance novel. Directed by bill corcoran. Story based on the book by danielle steel. This appears to be the last film produced from one of her books as of today. In the film, ophelia's son chad is played by gilbert's son dakota brinkman.

The story was good in book form, but Melissa Gilbert ruined this movie

[specialfx35 · 2/10 · 20 June 2008]

As I said, the book was pretty good and this might have been a good movie if Melissa Gilbert hadn't been so horrible and unbelievable in the lead roll. What kind of accent was that suppose to be anyway? It sounded the same as her horrible Russian accent in another movie that I have seen her in. Every time she opened her mouth I cringed. It took 3 tries before I was able to watch the entire movie. Brad Johnson was good as the other lead.

I really liked the beach location scenes. They added some much needed brightness to take your mind off of Melissa Gilberts depressing portrayal. I think they could have used San Francisco views more to their advantage though. It looked like the night scenes were actually SF, but I could be wrong. I don't recall the character in the book being this depressing.

Please keep Melissa Gilbert out of any future movies that require an accent!

Critique of Safe Harbour - TV Movie

[feltonps · 26 April 2009]

This story was as well done as any producer could do with a Danielle Steele book - all of which are exactly alike and with no depth. I would not have selected Melissa Gilbert for the lead role because her French accent is not good and she was not convincing in the part. There should have been a lot more development of the "romance" between the two leads --- all of a sudden, they are in love. Not sure how they got there but don't think the one "rescue" scene on the beach made a heroine out of Gilbert. It would be hard, however, to be convincing in any Danielle Steele movie due to the lack of believable development of a good story. I'd much rather see some movies made of Janet Dailey's Calder movies --- you could sure call on Brad Johnson to play some roles here - his role in Safe Harbour was excellent and well played. He has a quiet strength which shines through despite Gilbert's part. Brad Johnson would also be great in any of Dailey's Calder books. I think we need more early 1900 western type honest to goodness cowboy movies.

It's not so much the movie I disliked...

[mdbarrieau · 5/10 · 6 May 2024]

It's not that I completely disliked the movie, I just hate when they make the claim, "based on the book by..." and then the only thing similar is a couple names & maybe a location. They should really say "VERY, VERY loosely based on the book..." or, better yet, "VERY, VERY loosely based on the idea of the book..." Whatever. Okay, rant over. The movie was ok, sappy but okay. I guess I'm not great with picking out bad accents. I kept trying to figure out how long it took her to learn the French & the accent! One thing i did get from this movie, I definitely won't go looking for another Danielle Steel movie "based on" one of her books!

Safe Harbour: Good, But I Have A Bone to Pick With Ms. Steele ***

[edwagreen · 7/10 · 5 May 2008]

This movie is a good one but I have a major criticism of this work by Danielle Steele.

In the story, a woman who had an affair with her best friend's husband later comes down with terminal cancer. Ms. Steele does a disservice to cancer victims by the woman saying that she was punished with cancer for having the affair. Ms. Steele, cancer does not discriminate. Plenty of wonderful people have succumbed to this curse. It was definitely wrong to state this.

As for the story, it is really another "Peyton Place" and it is fairly well done.

Congratulations to Melissa Gilbert for her fine French accent. Plenty of problems in this story are well handled by a very good cast.

There were a lot of sub-plots here. Am sure that minority groups will not like that the African American did the shooting that nearly took the life of Gilbert. There was a lot of stereotyping here of who makes up the homeless.

Decent story, but OMG Gilbert's accent

[AnnPanders · 4/10 · 22 January 2024]

Typical Danielle Steele, just easy watching on a rainy Sunday. EXCEPT...... Melissa Gilbert's accent is so awful it was totally distracting. The accent goes in and out, and even when it's in it is horrendous. I wonder why the director didn't just stop her after one or two days of shooting and tell her "You are ruining this movie with your horrible accent, just play it straight from now on." It seriously is that bad. When I first noticed it when she met the guy on the beach I thought the character was faking the accent (and badly) just so the guy wouldn't know who she is. Then I realized, nope, this is apparently the accent she'll have the entire film. Uggh. I mean, WHY?!?!?! Did no one on set have the nerve to say how awful she is? The story would have been perfectly fine without the accent.

Okay, I spent enough time on her horrible accent. Otherwise, the film was watchable and Brad Johnson and the girl were good/okay. But if you are a fan of Melissa Gilbert, I would skip this one. She's terrible and barely watchable.